2012 Maritime Heritage Expedition Log by Cathy Green – July 13, 2012

Mapping the Quartette, Pearl and Hermes Atoll

Archaeologist Bert Ho documents the triple expansion steam engine of the liberty ship Quartette. Credit: Cathy Green/NOAA

Today the maritime archaeology team tackled the task of continuing documentation of the wreckage of the 7,000-ton ship Quartette. The Quartette (originally the USS James Swan, built in 1944) was an American liberty ship lost on the reef around Pearl and Hermes Atoll after grounding in 1952. She was had been enroute from Galeveston, Texas to South Korea with a load of grain slated for American troops. Once firmly aground, the jagged reef surrounding the site caused the 422-foot long ship to completely break up, leaving behind a confused mass of machinery and hull structure. Because the site is relatively shallow, less than 30 feet deep, as long as the seas are fairly calm, the Quartette is an ideal shipwreck for divers to work. To get an idea of the collection of artifacts and their disposition around the site, the archaeologists laid a base line and measured the large components of the wreckage. Photo and video documentation supplemented measured drawings. All of this information will come together into a site plan, which the team is drawing onboard the ship in the evenings and during transit days between atolls. We will return to this site in a few days as we stop by Pearl and Hermes Atoll on our way back down the chain. Once completed, the site plan will be available to the public on the Monument's website.

Click Here for more information on the Quartette.

The archaeology team maps the wreck of the Quartette at Pearl and Hermes Atoll. Credit: Cathy Green/NOAA

Not only is the Quartette an interesting wreck site, it is also a thriving reef ecosystem. This Galapagos shark visited us as we mapped the site. Credit: Cathy Green/NOAA